Privacy notice
As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled in ways that are safe, transparent and what you would reasonably expect. Please find documents and links below.
Drs Hogan, Allen & Quinn Privacy Notice
(reviewed June 2024)
Our contact details:
Drs Hogan, Allan & Quinn
Greenock Health & Care Centre
Wellington Street
Greenock
PA15 4NH.
Tel: 01475 608800.
Website: https://www.hoganallenandquinn.scot.nhs.uk/
Data Controller details:
Dr Hogan, Dr Allen & Dr Quinn.
Data Processor details:
Hilda McLeese.
Data Protection Officer:
Stewart Whyte
Data Protection Office
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
1 Smithhills Street
Level 2
PAISLEY
PA1 1EB.
NHS health care records may be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure.
Records this GP practice holds about you may include the following information:
- Your name, date of birth, address, post code, telephone numbers and email address.
- Next of kin details.
- Carers details and emergency contact details.
- Legal representatives.
- Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments etc.
- Notes and reports about your health.
- Details about your treatment and care.
- Results of investigations such as laboratory tests, x-rays etc.
- Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives and those who care for you.
Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.
Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes – the surgery will always gain your consent before releasing the information for this purpose.
Maintaining Confidentiality of your records
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:
- Data Protection Act 1998 and General Data Protection Regulation 2016.
- Human Rights Act 1998.
- Common Law Duty of Confidentiality.
- Health and Social Care Act 2012.
- NHS Codes of Confidentiality, Information Security and Records Management.
- Child and Young people (Scotland) Act 2014.
Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential and secure.
We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situation) where the law requires information to be passed on and/or in accordance with the new information sharing principle following Dame Fiona Caldicott’s information sharing review (information to share or not to share) where “The duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality”. This means that health and social care professionals should have the confidence to share information in the best interests of their patients within the framework set out by the Caldicott principles. They should be supported by the policies of their employers, regulators and professional bodies.
Who are our partner organisations?
We may also have to share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, with the following organisations;
- NHS health boards
- GPs
- Independent contractors such as dentists, opticians and pharmacists.
- Private Sector Providers.
- Voluntary Sector Providers.
- Ambulance Services.
- Social Care Services.
- HSCPs (Health and Social Care Partnerships)
- Local Authorities.
- Education Services.
- Fire and Rescue Services.
- Police and Judicial Services.
- Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of.
You will be informed who your data will be shared with and in some cases asked for explicit consent for this to happen.
Access to personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to request access to view or to obtain copies of what information the surgery holds about you and have it amended should it be inaccurate. In order to request this, you need to do the following:
- Your request for information must be put in writing, if the information you require is in regard to hospital care, then your request should be directed to the hospital.
- We are required to respond to you within 40 days.
- You will need to complete a pro-forma which can be obtained from the reception.
Objections/Complaints
Should you have concerns about how your information is managed at the surgery, please contact the Practice Manager. If you are still unhappy following a review by the practice, you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via their website (www.ico.go.uk). The practice is registered with the Information Commissioners Office.
Telephone recording
The surgery has the ability to record telephone calls to protect patients, staff and other health workers.
Personal data
When a call is recorded we collect:
• a digital recording of the telephone conversation
• the telephone number of both parties (internal and external)
Personal data revealed during a telephone call will be digitally recorded for example name and contact details to deliver appropriate services. All recorded calls will be stored for a period of 12 months.
Occasionally ‘special category’ personal information may be recorded where a discussion takes place which involves health, religious beliefs, ethnicity or criminal information to support a request for advice and/or services.”
Participation in research
As a practice, we feel that research is essential for progress in healthcare and is of considerable benefit to individual patients and the public as a whole. We regularly take part in research studies and with the help of experienced NHS staff who search medical records for people who might be suitable so that we can write to them asking if they are interested in taking part.
No personal identifiable data is removed from the NHS or provided to any researchers without specific consent from patients.
Patients have the right to opt out of being contacted about research studies. Please let the reception staff or GPs know if you wish to opt out.
If you have any questions please ask to speak to the Practice Manager.
To access the full Greater Glasgow & Clyde Privacy statement please go to:
http://www.nhsggc.org.uk/media/248110/nhsggc_gdpr_data_protction_notice.pdf